Halfway through the regular season season, some of the first-year rookies have gradually adapted to the NBA and gained a foothold, and some players have even played very well, and Magic forward Franz Wagner is one of them.
Why was Wagner able to adapt to the pro league so quickly and dominate the rookie list for so long?
1. Very high ball quotient
Wagner in college, has a good ability to read the game, after entering the NBA, he will show the advantages of his high ball quotient vividly, when to pass, when to break through, when to cut in, Wagner can always grasp the right timing. In addition, he rarely throws the ball with a bad choice, has good passes, rarely hesitates in the game, and always makes decisions quickly.
Taking the round shown in the GIF as an example, this is a very simple attack, teammate Carter Jr. gave Wagner a cover, there was no cover, but Wagner found that the middleton defending him was a bit too far, immediately used the back dribble to pull the ball back and then break through, when dribbling to the free throw line, he observed the alphabet brother waiting under the basket, he did not choose to physically fight with the former DPOY, but chose a more secure throw, the ball was scored.
A simple round, a few seemingly simple moves, but this requires the player to make quick decisions when on the scene, and the player's physical response to keep up with their own thinking speed.
2. All-round skills
Wagner is 6 feet 9 tall, which translates to nearly 2.06 meters, at this height, Wagner still has a skilled ball holding and dexterous body control, and his arsenal at the offensive end is also relatively rich, whether it is three-point shooting or ball-holding breakthroughs, he can skillfully use throwing, hooking and other techniques under the basket, can hold the ball to attack, but also a no-ball threat.
3. Undervalued potential & great growth and progress
Wagner played in the NCAA for two years before entering the NBA, and in those two years, his data was not prominent, nor like many NBA players, he was the top scorer in their respective colleges, Wagner was only the third scorer on the team at the University of Michigan, and his data in the NCAA for two years was as follows:
In the 2019-20 season, he made 27 appearances, averaging 11.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 45.2% from the field, 31.1% from three-point range and 83.3% from the free throw line.
In the 2020-21 season, he made 28 appearances, averaging 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, shooting 47.7% from the field, 34.3% from three-point range and 83.5% from the free throw line.
So far this season, Wagner's figures are as follows:
He averaged 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.9 steals per game, shooting 45.0 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from three-point range and 83.8 percent from the free throw line.
For December, Wagner's monthly average was:
He averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 47.6 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from three-point range and 88.9 percent from the free throw line.
Wagner's output in December was already better than that of Tobias Harris, who was only a 20-year-old rookie and had a relatively stable performance. Before entering the NBA, scouts, draft experts, the outside world and other evaluations of Wagner underestimated him, and no one could have imagined that Wagner could score nearly 20 points in a single month in the rookie season, and also close to the "180 club".
4. Future and outlook
Some people may feel that Wagner's data was obtained in the magic team at the bottom of the league, and the gold content is insufficient, but don't forget that in the absence of Cole Antony, Wagner, as the team's main attacker, often has to face the opponent's defensive top soldiers, although he has not yet led the team to win, but Wagner has proved himself with his stable and outstanding performance.
It is undeniable that Wagner also has shortcomings such as poor left-handed breakthroughs, and if it is deliberately targeted in the future, it may hit the belated "rookie wall", but the author believes that with Wagner's learning ability and progress, he can better improve himself and become a star.
（K）